SUMMARY:
This week on HoosLeft This Week: the theological and political fault line between Pope Leo and Pete Hegseth's Easter messaging; Trump's escalating threats against Iran, a ceasefire, and its rapid collapse as Israel struck Lebanon; suspicious prediction market trading around the ceasefire announcement and bipartisan calls to regulate it; the 25th Amendment and impeachment talk from an unlikely coalition; Indiana's congressional delegation on the Iran war and Governor Braun's gas tax holiday; the White House's pressure campaign against Alexandra Wilson and Trump's state legislative endorsement blitz ahead of Indiana's May 5 primary; special election results in Georgia and Wisconsin; the Michigan Senate race and the DNC's rejection of an AIPAC resolution; elections in Hungary and Peru; Melania Trump's Epstein statement, FBI notes corroborating survivor allegations, Pam Bondi's refusal to testify, and Bill Gates's upcoming congressional testimony; ICE conditions at Miami Correctional and the Dilley facility in Texas, shootings in California and Minnesota, Monroe County Sheriff Marte's lawsuit against AG Rokita, and the deportation cases of a U.S. soldier's wife and Kilmar Abrego Garcia; Indiana sheriffs charged in public integrity investigations; the Ball State/Rokita free speech settlement; the John Deere right-to-repair settlement; Indiana utility legislation and data center opposition in Shelbyville and Indianapolis; media consolidation and WRTV layoffs; and the successful return of the Artemis II crew. Guests: Marsha Fleming, Knox County Democratic Party chair and co-host of the Left of Midlife podcast, and Isaac Chapman-Whitehead, president of College Democrats at Indiana University.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00:34 Introduction
00:02:41 Guest Introductions: Marsha Fleming & Isaac Chapman-Whitehead
00:05:21 Pope Leo vs. Pete Hegseth: Two Versions of Easter
00:14:17 Trump’s Iran Threats & the Easter Deadline
00:19:01 The Ceasefire: Terms, Collapse, and Lebanon
00:36:00 Pakistan Negotiations & Where Things Stand
00:39:03 25th Amendment & Impeachment Talk
00:44:07 Indiana’s Delegation on Iran & Braun’s Gas Tax Holiday
00:51:12 Indiana Primaries: Alexandra Wilson & White House Pressure
00:58:51 Georgia Special Election & Wisconsin Supreme Court
01:03:22 Michigan Senate Race & the DNC/AIPAC Fight
01:11:13 Hungary & Peru Elections
01:14:22 Melania Trump’s Epstein Statement & Paolo Zampolli
01:19:45 FBI Notes, Pam Bondi’s Subpoena & Bill Gates
01:25:04 ICE in Indiana: Sheriff Marte vs. Rokita & Carson at Miami Correctional
01:31:55 ICE Nationally: Dilley, California & Minneapolis Shootings
01:36:33 ICE Deportations: Soldier’s Wife, Kilmar Abrego Garcia & IU Researcher
01:39:58 Indiana: Two Sheriffs Charged
01:45:49 Ball State Settlement & John Deere Right-to-Repair
01:51:55 Indiana Utilities & Data Center Opposition
01:57:55 Artemis II Splashdown
02:00:26 Sign-off & Upcoming on PIN
IN DEPTH:
Easter -> Two Different Expressions of Christianity
This Easter, an American Pope Confronts an American War (New Yorker)
Pope Leo XIV publicly named Trump for the first time, urging him to find “an off-ramp” from the Iran war
The new Pope spent his first eleven months quietly assessing the Vatican internally before Trump’s wars thrust him into an unavoidably public, confrontational role
Pete Hegseth held a Pentagon prayer service asking God for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy” — framed as a direct contrast to Leo’s Palm Sunday peace message
American-born Pope Leo may not visit US while Trump is president after diplomat meeting disaster (Independent)
Leo directly rebuked Hegseth’s “pray for victory in Jesus’s name” rhetoric, saying Jesus “rejects the prayers of those who wage war”
Pentagon’s Elbridge Colby summoned Vatican diplomat Cardinal Christophe Pierre and warned the U.S. can do “whatever it wants” militarily The Daily Beast
A U.S. official invoked the Avignon Papacy — when France militarily dominated the Church in the 1300s — as a threat The Daily Beast
Pope Leo declined a White House invitation to celebrate July 4th, choosing instead to spend it on Lampedusa with African refugees
Pope Leo XIV denounces the ‘delusion of omnipotence’ he says fuels the US-Israeli war in Iran (AP)
Presiding over evening prayer services at St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo called the war a “delusion of omnipotence” and directly challenged leaders using God to justify violence — a clear shot at Hegseth’s Christian-nation framing
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he said. “Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Iran
Threats -> Ceasefire -> Negotiations
On Easter, threatens ‘hell’ on Iran’s infrastructure if Strait remains blocked (Reuters)
On Easter Sunday, Trump posted the following:
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Open the F------ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Trump told ABC News the conflict should end in days, but if not “we’re blowing up the whole country” — with “very little” off the table
Targeting power plants and bridges follows earlier threats to hit desalination plants, which international law experts said could violate humanitarian law
Trump threatens ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ ahead of Iran deadline (Politico)
On Monday, Despite the annihilation rhetoric, U.S. strikes that night hit only military targets on Kharg Island — Vance said civilian infrastructure was still on hold pending Iranian proposals
But then Tuesday morning, Trump posted:
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
U.S. and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire, suspending Trump’s threat to annihilate Iran (NPR)
U.S. and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire less than two hours before Trump’s 8 PM deadline, brokered by Pakistan
As part of the agreement, Trump said the U.S. and Israel would suspend bombing Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran following through on its commitment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for safe passage during the ceasefire period.
Both sides claiming victory: Trump says military objectives were met; Iran says the U.S. agreed to the “general framework” of its 10-point proposal
According to Iranian officials, the proposal requires the lifting of all sanctions and UN resolutions against Iran, alongside the release of Iranian assets held overseas. Other demands include the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from military bases across the region, compensation in the form of estimated reparations, and Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment.
Suspicious Trading Around Ceasefire Announcement
Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on US-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump’s announcement (Politico)
Newly created Polymarket accounts placed hundreds of thousands in “Yes” bets on a ceasefire hours before Trump’s announcement — while his public rhetoric was still threatening to “annihilate a civilization”
This mirrors earlier suspicious betting patterns before the capture of Nicolás Maduro and previous Iran military actions — same platforms, same timing, same new-account pattern
Both Polymarket and Kalshi have acknowledged the problem; bipartisan legislation is pending to extend insider trading laws to prediction markets
Rep. Ritchie Torres calls for probe into futures trades placed ahead of March pause on Iran hostilities (CNBC)
Rep. Ritchie Torres called for an SEC/CFTC probe into $500 million in crude oil futures trades made in the 15 minutes before Trump announced a pause in Iran strikes last month— potentially the largest insider trading case in history
Torres has legislation pending to bar federal officials and political appointees from trading event contracts based on nonpublic government information — it has 42 Democratic cosponsors but is dead in the Republican House
This is the second time Torres has raised the alarm — the first was after a Polymarket account made $400,000 on the Maduro ouster — and a separate group of House Democrats has also written to the CFTC demanding answers
Netanyahu: Ceasefire doesn’t cover Lebanon (Times of Israel)
Four hours after US President Donald Trump’s announcement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a statement welcoming the ceasefire between the US and Iran, while stressing that it does not cover Lebanon.
“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region,” the PMO says in a statement only issued in English.
Lebanese reeling after Israel’s devastating attacks (Al Jazeera)
Hours after the ceasefire took effect, Israel launched 100+ airstrikes across Lebanon in under 10 minutes, killing at least 254 and wounding 1,160 — with no warnings given
Strikes hit densely populated residential areas of Beirut that had been spared for months, including neighborhoods far from any Hezbollah presence
Analysts say Netanyahu is racing to “maximize operational achievements” in Lebanon before a final US-Iran deal forces him to stop
Pakistan Reiterates That Lebanon Is Still Part of Ceasefire Despite Israel’s Attacks (Common Dreams)
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a key role in brokering the deal announced on Tuesday, said that “Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”
Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said on Wednesday afternoon that this was not the agreement the parties reached on Tuesday
Israel’s Lebanon assault is being characterized by some foreign policy analysts as a deliberate attempt to blow up a ceasefire over which Israel had been sidelined, and it worked…
Iran clamping down in Strait of Hormuz amid tenuous ceasefire (CBC)
Iran re-closed the Strait of Hormuz after Israel’s Lebanon strikes, with just 7 ships passing per day versus a normal 140 — and physical oil prices hit record levels
Iran is demanding tolls for safe passage through the Strait — an idea Trump himself had previously floated — prompting Trump to post “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now”
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei — who hasn’t been seen in public since taking over — vowed retribution and promised to take “management of the Strait into a new phase”
Historic U.S. and Iran negotiations in Pakistan continue past midnight (PBS)
Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf — a former Revolutionary Guard commander — held direct face-to-face talks in Islamabad, the most substantive U.S.-Iran contact since the 2015 nuclear deal negotiations
The two sides remain far apart: the U.S. wants to restrict Iran’s nuclear program and reopen the Strait; Iran is demanding compensation for strikes, release of frozen assets, and an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah
The U.S. began mine-clearing operations in the Strait regardless of the outcome — Trump told reporters “whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me”
Israel continued striking Lebanon throughout the talks, with the Lebanese death toll surpassing 2,000 — while Iranian state TV noted “serious” differences remained at the table
Lawmakers’ Reaction to Trump Threats
An eclectic, bipartisan group suddenly calls for removing Trump using the 25th Amendment (CNN)
Trump’s “whole civilization will die tonight” post triggered 25th Amendment calls from an unusual coalition: dozens of Democrats, MTG, Alex Jones, Candace Owens, and Anthony Scaramucci
Invoking the 25th requires a majority of the Cabinet plus the vice president to declare the president unfit — there’s no sign Vance or any Cabinet member is considering it
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson said Trump “loses me if he attacks civilian targets” — signaling even loyal Senate allies saw infrastructure strikes as illegal
No removal is imminent — but the public breadth of the coalition calling for it is historically unprecedented
House Democrat says he has filed articles of impeachment against Trump (The Hill)
70 Democrats including Nancy Pelosi and Chris Murphy formally called on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment
Rep. John Larson (D-CT) filed impeachment articles against Trump over the Iran war, citing the “whole civilization will die” post as evidence of unfitness for office
“Donald Trump has blown past every requirement to be removed from office. And it’s getting worse. His illegal war in Iran is not only driving up prices for American families — it has cost American lives,” said Larson. “He’s becoming more unstable by the day. His profane and sacrilegious Easter Sunday and subsequent threats, including ‘a whole civilization will die’ and ‘open the Strait … or you’ll be living in hell’ not only foreshadow war crimes, but put our security at risk,” he added.
House Democrat moves to impeach Hegseth over Iran war (Axios)
Rep. Yassamin Ansari filed impeachment articles against Hegseth for “repeatedly violating his oath” — citing the bombing of a girls’ school in southern Iran as evidence of deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure
Hegseth is now Democrats’ top Cabinet target following the ousters of Noem and Bondi — and polls show him among the least popular Cabinet members
Polls have shown Hegseth is among the least popular members of the Cabinet, with the mounting costs of the Iran conflict placing further strain on his public image.
Indiana Angle:
Indiana’s congressional delegation reacts to Trump deadline for bombing Iran (WTHR)
Todd Young: Trump is applying “maximum leverage” and using escalatory language to force a quick end — not actually planning to commit war crimes
André Carson: Trump has “no imminent threat” justification, was “drawn into this war by Netanyahu,” and has shown only “indecision, divisiveness and recklessness”
Both agreed rising gas prices are hurting Hoosiers — Young pushed releasing strategic petroleum reserves, Carson noted it’s only a temporary fix
Previously: Indiana’s congressional delegation reacts to initial Iran strikes (Axios)
Baird, Yakym, and Stutzman applauded Trump’s “decisive” action; Spartz expressed reservations; Carson, Mrvan call for war powers resolution.
Gov. Braun signs order to pause tax on gas for 30 days as Indiana prices hit $4 (WFYI)
Braun signed an executive order suspending Indiana’s 7-cent-per-gallon gas sales tax for 30 days — no legislative approval needed — as Indiana prices hit $4.13/gallon
The suspension covers only the sales tax, not the 36-cent excise tax — and only gasoline, not diesel
“I want to be clear: House Democrats support this suspension, but Gov. Braun and Statehouse Republicans are only cleaning up a mess that they helped create,” House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta said in a press release. “Hoosiers are tired of unstrategic and unfocused foreign wars that cost American lives, drive up gas prices and raise the cost of living.”
Elections
Indiana Angle:
Judge kicks dispute over same-last-name candidate back to Indiana Election Commission (ICC)
A judge sent back to the Indiana Election Commission a challenge to Alexandra Wilson’s place on the Republican primary ballot for an Indiana Senate seat
The fight is politically motivated — Trump-endorsed Brenda Wilson wants Alexandra Wilson removed to clear the path against incumbent Sen. Greg Goode, who voted against Indiana’s congressional redistricting plan
The removal effort hinges on a 2010 resisting law enforcement charge from when Alexandra was 19 — since expunged — with Bopp arguing the expungement is irrelevant because she was still convicted at the time she filed
How the White House tried — and failed — to push a candidate out of a Republican state Senate primary in Indiana (NBC)
Senior White House aides — including deputy chief of staff James Blair and political director Matt Brasseaux — personally called, texted, and pressured Alexandra Wilson to drop out, offering jobs and warning of “ugly” attacks if she stayed in
Blair made the calls from a plane to Germany with Marco Rubio — and when Wilson wouldn’t budge, Bopp filed to disqualify her the very next morning
The pressure campaign also involved Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Gov. Braun’s chief of staff, and the Club for Growth — showing how deep the White House’s involvement runs in Indiana’s state Senate primaries
Trump dives deeper into Indiana’s Republican primary fights (ICC)
Trump has now endorsed challengers to seven of the eight Republican state senators who voted against redistricting — branding incumbents “RINO LOSERS” and challengers “REAL Republicans”
Outside dark money groups — Hoosier Leadership for America, American Leadership PAC, and Club for Growth — are running TV, radio, and mail ads tied to Trump’s endorsements against targeted incumbents
Trump also endorsed all 10 Indiana House Republicans who voted for redistricting and face primary challengers — while withholding endorsements from three House members who voted against it but whose challengers haven’t gotten his backing either
This Week’s Elections
Republicans win Georgia race — but Democrats post largest swing yet in special House elections (NBC)
Republican Clay Fuller held MTG’s Georgia seat, but won by only 12 points in a district Trump carried by 37 — a 25-point swing toward Democrats, the biggest of any House special election in Trump’s second term
Democrats have now improved on Trump’s 2024 margins in every House special election this term, and have flipped 28 total state legislative seats since last year
Democrat Shawn Harris outperformed despite being outspent 4-to-1 — Fuller and outside groups spent $4 million to Harris’s $1.1 million
Two Democrats and a Republican secure seats in the Georgia Legislature (AJC)
Georgia also held three state legislative special election runoffs Tuesday — two safely Democratic seats stayed blue, one deep-red Republican seat stayed red — no partisan flips
Liberal judge cruises to victory in Wisconsin Supreme Court race (Politico)
Liberal judge Chris Taylor won a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat Tuesday, expanding the liberal majority to 5-2 and locking in liberal control until at least 2030
Conservatives haven’t won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race since 2019 — liberal judges have won four straight, including last year’s race where Elon Musk spent millions and still lost
The liberal court has already used its majority to end a GOP gerrymander, overturn Wisconsin’s 176-year-old abortion ban, and lock in a 400-year school funding increase
Other Elections
US
How big of a tent do Democrats want? Hasan Piker is testing the limits in Michigan’s Senate primary (Michigan Public)
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed is running for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat with Bernie Sanders’ backing, campaigning alongside Twitch streamer Hasan Piker — a move that’s splitting Democrats over how big a tent the party should build
El-Sayed is in a three-way primary against Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow; the winner faces former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in November for Gary Peters’ vacated seat
Establishment Democrats and Jewish groups are condemning Piker over controversial statements including “America deserved 9/11,” calling Hamas “a thousand times better” than Israel; McMorrow suggested Piker was analogous to MAGA white nationalist Nick Fuentes
Gaza is the fault line: El-Sayed and McMorrow both call it a genocide, but El-Sayed wants to end military aid entirely while Stevens calls herself a “proud pro-Israel Democrat”
Piker — who has 3.1 million Twitch followers and has hosted AOC and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani — argues the backlash is really about suppressing a younger, more populist wing of the party rather than about him personally
DNC rejects resolution condemning influence of pro-Israel Aipac lobby (Guardian)
The DNC’s resolutions committee voted to kill a measure targeting AIPAC’s dark money influence in Democratic primaries — despite AIPAC spending $221 million in Democratic races since 2022, including $22 million in Illinois alone
Two further resolutions — recognizing a Palestinian state and conditioning military aid to Israel — were punted to a “Middle East working group” that critics say exists mainly to avoid difficult decisions
DNC Chair Ken Martin defended the outcome by pointing to a separate blanket anti-dark-money resolution — without naming AIPAC specifically
AIPAC’s spending has backfired in at least one race: in New Jersey, a $2 million effort to defeat progressive Analilia Mejia failed, and she won the primary anyway
Polling consistently shows the Democratic base has shifted sharply away from Israel since Gaza — making the establishment’s posture increasingly at odds with its own voters
International
Peru faces record field in election, corruption and crime top voter concerns (Reuters)
Peru holds elections Sunday with 35 presidential candidates and no one polling above 15% — a runoff on June 7 is almost certain, with right-wing Keiko Fujimori holding a narrow lead
Fujimori is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who served 16 years in prison for human rights abuses before dying in 2024 — and has herself faced corruption charges tied to the Odebrecht bribery scandal that has implicated four Peruvian ex-presidents
MAGA’s global model faces existential test in Hungary (Axios)
Vance traveled to Budapest to boost Orbán ahead of Hungary’s April 12 election — the most serious threat to Orbán’s 16-year grip on power, with challenger Péter Magyar channeling voter anger over corruption and a struggling economy
The U.S. and Russia are both intervening to keep Orbán in power, while the EU and Ukraine want him gone — Hungary’s foreign minister was caught on leaked audio telling Russia’s foreign minister “I am always at your disposal”
Orbán has spent 16 years reshaping Hungary’s courts, media, and electoral maps to entrench his power — what the European Parliament calls “electoral autocracy” — and has never lost under the system he built
Epstein/DOJ
Melania Trump holds extraordinary White House event to deny ties to Epstein, knowledge of his crimes (AP)
Melania made an extraordinary White House statement denying Epstein ties — but her decision to revive the issue herself almost certainly pushes it back into the spotlight after the Iran war had largely buried it
She acknowledged being in overlapping social circles with Epstein and Maxwell, but called a 2002 email to Maxwell “trivial casual correspondence” — without elaborating on its contents
The West Wing knew she was making a statement but may not have known what she’d say — and the White House press office didn’t respond to requests for comment
Melania called for congressional hearings for Epstein survivors — Democrats immediately agreed; Republicans were split, but Thomas Massie turned attention back to the Justice Department, saying it’s the attorney general’s job to bring in survivors for testimony. Massie, who has pressed for more arrests in the Epstein case, ended a social media post with a call to “PROSECUTE!”
The statement came months after HarperCollins UK apologized and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein introduced her to Trump — the most recent of several retractions she cited
The Man Who Links Melania Directly to Epstein (Daily Beast)
The man sitting next to JD Vance in Budapest this week helping prop up Viktor Orbán’s reelection campaign is Paolo Zampolli — Trump’s special envoy for global partnerships and the man who introduced Donald and Melania
Zampolli appears multiple times in the Epstein documents, discussed buying a modeling agency with Epstein, and was named a partner in Ghislaine Maxwell’s ocean charity
Zampolli’s ex-girlfriend, Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro, rode Epstein’s “Lolita Express” at age 17 and is now threatening to “expose everything” — while accusing Zampolli of using his Washington connections to have her arrested by immigration authorities amid a custody dispute
FBI records detail potential witnesses of SC Epstein victim. They aren’t public. (Post & Courier)
Unreleased FBI handwritten notes from 2019 contain names of potential corroborating witnesses to a South Carolina woman’s allegations that Epstein trafficked her as a teen and that she was forced into a sex act involving Trump
Key details in the handwritten notes never made it into the official FBI summaries released by DOJ — and the FBI never appears to have contacted at least one of the witnesses named in those notes
Pam Bondi, who was just ousted as AG, is still subpoenaed to testify April 14 about DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files
Pam Bondi defies House subpoena over Epstein files (Axios)
Bondi is refusing to comply with her congressional subpoena, claiming she was subpoenaed as AG and no longer holds that office — Democrats are threatening contempt
The subpoena passed on a bipartisan basis, with Mace, Burchett, Boebert, Cloud, and Perry joining every Democrat — and Mace says Bondi “will still have to appear”
Epstein survivors Maria and Annie Farmer are demanding Bondi testify under oath, saying DOJ’s handling of the files “betrayed the trust of survivors”
Bill Gates will testify in the Epstein probe; Pam Bondi testimony postponed (NPR)
Bill Gates will testify before House Oversight in June — he appears thousands of times in the Epstein files, met with Epstein repeatedly after his 2008 conviction, and flew on his private plane
The Epstein files contain claims that Epstein helped Gates obtain medication for an STI from “sex with Russian girls” — and that Gates wanted to secretly give that medication to then-wife Melinda French Gates, who told NPR the revelations filled her with “unbelievable sadness”
Also scheduled to testify: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on May 6, and a prison guard on duty the night Epstein died on May 18 — while Maxwell is refusing to testify without immunity or clemency
ICE
Indiana angle:
Monroe County Sheriff sues AG Rokita over ICE compliance law (WRTV)
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté has sued AG Rokita over Indiana’s new ICE compliance law, SEA 76, arguing it requires detaining people without a judicial warrant — a violation of the Fourth Amendment rights he swore to protect
Marté says complying with the law would expose Monroe County to “significant civil liability” — and notes his office already honors ICE detainer requests when accompanied by a judicial warrant
Rokita already has an ongoing lawsuit against Marté over the county’s immigration detention policy — this new suit is Marté firing back
Congressman cites ‘heartbreaking’ detainee accounts during Indiana prison visit (ICC)
Rep. André Carson toured Miami Correctional Facility and met privately with ICE detainees, just days after a second detainee death at the facility in less than two months
Carson says detainees told him at least one death may have been preventable — the person was “screaming” with no functioning intercom system, and personnel failed to respond rapidly
Detainees described two-week waits for medical care resulting in “a few Tylenol capsules,” 3:30 a.m. breakfasts, and court documents arriving after filing deadlines had already passed
Indiana DOC has received $5 million so far under its ICE detention contract — Carson is calling for an end to ICE detention at the facility entirely, saying the dual-use model is “simply unsustainable”
Facilities
Democrats says ICE’s notorious Dilley detention center is operating in ‘a new era of secrecy’ under new DHS chief (Independent)
Democratic lawmakers visiting ICE’s Dilley family detention center in Texas say staff greeted them with scripted “propaganda” from DHS leadership and refused to answer questions — directing all inquiries in writing to Washington
More than 300 people including 77 children are currently detained at Dilley — part of roughly 6,200 children placed in ICE detention since Trump’s second term began
Emergency crews have been dispatched to Dilley nearly a dozen times in six months for children with seizures, broken bones, respiratory distress and plunging oxygen levels — a five-year-old has had untreated cavities for months, receiving only Ibuprofen
Rep. Joaquin Castro says the facility has grown “more secretive, not less” under new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin — “there are people there with grave medical conditions that are worsening because they’re not treated as fully human”
If they don’t shoot you first
California man shot by ICE says officials falsely labeled him a gang member (Guardian)
A California man shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop says officers fired on him as he was trying to reverse away from them — he was hit by more than six bullets including one to the face and has undergone three surgeries
ICE claimed he’s an 18th Street Gang member wanted for murder in El Salvador — but provided no evidence, and Hernandez was acquitted of that murder charge in 2019; his attorney says he has never been in a gang
This follows a pattern: ICE shot Renee Good in Minneapolis in January, claimed she “ran over” an officer, but footage showed otherwise — and in Oregon, DHS called a shooting victim a gang member when she was actually a prior victim of sexual assault
Minneapolis ICE shooting: City releases video that undermines feds’ version of events (KMSP)
Minneapolis released video of a January ICE shooting that directly contradicts federal agents’ sworn accounts — the DOJ dropped charges against the two men arrested and opened a criminal probe into the ICE officers for making “untruthful statements” under oath
The U.S. Attorney’s Office opened a criminal probe into two ICE officers after video evidence revealed their sworn testimony included “untruthful statements” — “lying under oath is a serious federal offense,” an assistant secretary acknowledged
The two men originally charged with assaulting a federal agent had those charges dismissed with prejudice after “newly discovered evidence” proved “materially inconsistent” with the original complaint
Deportations
US soldier’s wife freed from ICE detention as deportation attempt continues (Military Times)
ICE detained a U.S. soldier’s wife on a military base in Louisiana while the couple was there to register her as a military spouse — she was brought to the U.S. from Honduras at 20 months old and issued a removal order as a toddler
Sgt. Matthew Blank said he “never imagined” doing the right thing — registering his wife for military benefits — would result in her being taken away
Annie Ramos has been released with a GPS monitor pending removal proceedings; she says “all I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby”
Trump administration reaffirms plans to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia (Al Jazeera)
The Trump administration insists on deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — not Costa Rica (which has offered to take him) — a destination critics say is purely vindictive
Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of a protection order, imprisoned at the notorious CECOT facility, and only returned to the U.S. in June after a unanimous Supreme Court ruling
Since his return, the administration filed human smuggling charges against him, detained him again when he was released, and proposed deporting him to Uganda before settling on Liberia — an escalating pattern of retaliation against a man with no criminal record
Congo says it will receive third-country deportees from the U.S. under new deal (PBS)
Congo has agreed to accept U.S. deportees who are not Congolese — joining at least seven other African nations in Trump’s third-country deportation program, which has cost at least $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants
Many of the African nations signing these deals have notoriously repressive governments and poor human rights records — including Eswatini, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea
A key concern: many deportees being sent to these countries have U.S. court protection orders specifically barring their return to their home countries due to safety concerns — now being shipped to a third country instead
IU postdoctoral researcher deported after pleading guilty to smuggling E. coli DNA into the US from China (WTHR)
A former IU Bloomington postdoctoral researcher was sentenced to four months in prison and deported to China after pleading guilty to smuggling E. coli DNA into the U.S., mislabeled on a shipping manifest as “women’s underwear”
The FBI caught him at O’Hare after he returned from a UK research trip — he initially denied knowledge before admitting he mislabeled the package to circumvent U.S. law
The FBI also presented evidence that Xiang was a Chinese Communist Party member who lied about his party ties during his immigration interview
Other Indiana News
Law & Courts
2 Indiana sheriffs charged in public integrity investigations from Indiana State Police (WTHR)
Two Indiana sheriffs and a jail matron face criminal charges in Indiana State Police public integrity investigations announced Thursday by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears
Dubois County Sheriff Thomas Kleinhelter is charged with false informing and official misconduct after allegedly using $78,000 in jail commissary funds for golf rounds, Dubai airline tickets, Blackstone grills, and gift cards — then lying to investigators about it
Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly and his wife, jail matron Ashley Kelly, are charged with fraud, theft, and official misconduct for allegedly misappropriating ISP pension funds and commissary money — courts have already found them personally liable for more than $329,000 in misappropriated funds
Ashley Kelly allegedly collected at least $50,000 in disability payments while “engaging in strenuous physical activities that contradict her claimed medical limitations” — her husband created the jail matron job for her before taking office
Clinton County Commissioners are calling for both Kellys to resign immediately, saying “public trust has been broken” — this follows a 2025 court ruling that already found them personally liable for the misappropriation
Ball State settles lawsuit over firing of employee for Charlie Kirk online post (IPM)
A former Ball State employee fired for a private Facebook post about Charlie Kirk’s death has settled her lawsuit against the university — terms are sealed, but Ball State called it “successful”
Suzanne Swierc lost her job after AG Todd Rokita publicly amplified her private post — the ACLU noted it was Rokita, not Swierc, who caused the disruption by disseminating it
Rokita was not named in the lawsuit, and Swierc didn’t seek her job back — saying she no longer felt she could work at Ball State
Deere & Co agrees to pay $99M to settle ‘right to repair’ lawsuit (Indiana Lawyer)
John Deere agreed to a $99 million settlement resolving a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of monopolizing repair services by withholding software and conspiring with dealers to force farmers to use authorized repair shops at inflated prices
The settlement covers farmers who paid Deere or authorized dealers for large agriculture equipment repairs between January 2018 and the deal’s approval date — and requires Deere to strengthen access to repair resources going forward
Deere still faces a separate FTC lawsuit from the Biden era making similar accusations — and continues to deny any wrongdoing in both cases
Data Centers & Utilities
Braun celebrates ‘landmark’ utility legislation (ICC)
Braun ceremonially signed HEA 1002, which prohibits hot-weather shutoffs for low-income customers, requires utility assistance programs for low-income households, and moves all residential customers to levelized billing by default
The law creates a performance-based ratemaking process for utilities — but doesn’t mandate lower rates; any savings for most ratepayers “will take years to materialize, if they materialize at all,” according to consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition
Braun has also appointed a new utility consumer counselor and three new “rate-conscious” IURC commissioners — but consumer advocates were notably not invited to the signing ceremony
Shelbyville Common Council votes to move forward with data center (WTHR)
The tension is hard to ignore: Indiana is signing utility affordability legislation with one hand while approving massive power-hungry data center developments with the other
Shelbyville’s Common Council voted 4-2-1 to approve annexation, rezoning, and an economic development agreement for a potential $2 billion, 11-building data center campus on 429 acres near State Road 44
Developer Prologis’s project faced repeated delays due to public opposition over unanswered questions about water use, environmental impact, and effects on Shelby County’s agricultural character
Shots fired at city councilor’s home over data center approval (Mirror Indy)
Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ron Gibson reported his home was shot at 13 times and a “No Data Centers” note was left on his doorstep — just days after he supported rezoning for a data center in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood over constituent opposition
Gibson didn’t call IMPD until roughly 8:30 a.m. — nearly eight hours after he says the shooting occurred at 12:45 a.m. — a detail that has fueled local skepticism about the incident
Neighborhood opposition group Protect Martindale Brightwood condemned the violence, but locals are questioning the incident’s authenticity given the conveniently on-message note and the suspicious reporting delay
City-County Councilor Ron Gibson stands by data center after shooting (Axios)
The Metropolitan Development Commission approved the Metrobloks project last week, sending it to the City-County Council for final approval — Gibson was loudly booed by the crowd at that meeting.
Media Consolidation
Layoffs at WRTV in Indianapolis exceed 50 staff members as new owner pledges more news (IED)
Circle City Broadcasting acquired WRTV Channel 6 for $83 million and immediately laid off more than 50 of roughly 60 employees — a woman in sales with 30 years tenure learned her health insurance was cut 30 minutes before she was fired
Fewer than five WRTV staffers were retained; the rest were told to reapply and compete against outside candidates for open positions
The consolidation means five Indianapolis TV newsrooms will soon be owned by just two companies — Nexstar and Circle City — raising concerns about editorial homogeneity across the market
How will the consolidation of Indy TV stations change Indianapolis? (ICC)
Indianapolis TV news has gone from four owners to two in a matter of weeks — Nexstar owns FOX59 and CBS4 and has acquired Tegna (WTHR’s parent), though a federal judge has paused that deal on antitrust grounds and WTHR may be divested; Circle City owns WISH, WNDY, and WRTV
IU researchers warn consolidation leads to self-censorship: with only two potential employers in the market, reporters may avoid pitching stories that conflict with ownership interests — not because of memos, but because job survival demands it
Experts predict less statehouse coverage, more crime and soft news — while community organizers say Indianapolis Black neighborhoods are already getting “a soundbite of a soundbite” as stories lose context passing through fewer and fewer newsrooms
Moon Mission
Artemis II crew splashes down, ending historic moon mission (Space)
Artemis 2 splashed down April 10 off San Diego, successfully returning four astronauts from the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972 — Victor Glover became the first person of color to leave Earth orbit, Christina Koch the first woman, and Jeremy Hansen the first non-American
The crew broke Apollo 13’s 56-year-old distance record, flying 252,756 miles from Earth — and witnessed a 54-minute total solar eclipse from lunar distance that was invisible from Earth
NASA had to tweak Artemis 2’s reentry angle after cracks appeared in the heat shield during the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission — the fix worked, but Mission Control held its breath through six minutes of radio silence as the capsule hit the atmosphere at 24,000 mph
Artemis 2 was a shakeout mission — the real goal is Artemis 4, which aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole in late 2028, ahead of China’s own crewed lunar landing target of 2030
